The biggest cat in the Americas and the only one of the roaring big cats native there. A stocky, heavily spotted hunter that sticks close to rivers and swamps.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Yes
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Varies by region: largely active by day in parts of the Amazon and the Pantanal, and mainly by night in the Atlantic Forest.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inSouth America, Central America
HabitatRainforest, Wetland, Forest, Grassland
ColoursGold, Black
SizeLarge
LengthUp to 1.85 m plus tail
Height57–81 cm at the shoulder
Weight56–96 kg in most regions
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for12–15 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- From Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina, with strongholds in the Amazon basin and the Pantanal wetlands.
- What it eats
- Broad: capybara, peccaries and deer, but also caimans, turtles and fish, especially in the Pantanal.
- Conservation
- Near Threatened (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Bites straight through the skull rather than the throat.
Often confused with
Sources
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